When my first son was about 7 years old a Siamese cat landed in our home, being abandoned by his owner. We named him Blue-Eye. Then he met a mate named ‘Blotchy’. During my younger days my late mother would have called him ‘Tompok’. Soon, ‘Blendy’ was born.Since then my house has literally been a semi-welfare home for cats which was abandoned by their owners or which wanted ‘a second home’. They came in and go whenever they like.I was getting very busy running my clinic and I didn’t have much time reading to my kids as i used to. I now have 6 kids and boy!they were very active. So I thought I better use all these stray or semi-stray cats to teach them a little bit of vocabulary and a dose of motivation.Of course I needed the motivation more than they did. So, here is the list of my cats over the past 20 years or so that come to mind. Blendy gave birth to Jovial. The rest were from other stock. We had:Proactive, Imperturbability(Imper), Integrity, Equanimity, Joyful, Adorable, Vision, Mission,Positive, Progressive, Persistence, Synergy, Awesome, Vibrant, Upgrade, Tenacity, Nimble Charming, Sheer Brute, Influential and about two weeks before the Malaysian general election(8/3/08) Charismatic delivered Forward Thinking, Upbeat, Catalyst and SUCCESS!

Besides the cat story, a monitor lizard which frequented my gate, I called her ZEST. She produced a cute little’WIN-WIN’ and both were chased away by the constant stone throwing of the village boys. We had a pair of hamsters called ‘ Hopeful’ and ‘Forge Ahead’ and a pair of ‘ayam katek’ called ‘Innovative’ and Creative.

So, it’s not that difficult to use whatever time and resources to be creative, cost effective and be a good teacher to your kids.

The “Official Secret Act” will not be amended or abolished, according to the Minister in the Prime Minister Department.

The Official Secrets Act 1972 (Act 88), also known as the OSA, is a statute in Malaysia prohibiting the dissemination of information classified as an official secret. The legislation is based on the Official Secrets Act of the United Kingdom. After criticism of the act for lacking clarity, it was amended in 1986.[1]

Provisions

The act defines an “official secret” as:

“

…any document specified in the Schedule and any information and material relating thereto and includes any other official document, information and material as may be classified as ‘Top Secret’, ‘Secret’, ‘Confidential’ or ‘Restricted’, as the case may be, by a Minister, the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister of a State or such public officer [as may be authorised to classify such documents by a Minister, Menteri Besar or Chief Minister].

”

The Schedule to the Act covers “Cabinet documents, records of decisions and deliberations including those of Cabinet committees”, as well as similar documents for state executive councils. It also includes “documents concerning national security, defence and international relations”.

Malaysia’s Official Secrets Act is a broadly-worded law which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, as well as significant lesser penalties for the actions associated with the wrongful collection, possession or communication of official information. Any public officer can declare any material an official secret — a certification which cannot be questioned in court . The act allows for arrest and detention without a warrant, and substantially reverses the burden of proof. It states that “until the contrary is proven,” any of the activities proscribed under the act will be presumed to have been undertaken “for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Malaysia.” It is not necessary for the authorities to show that the accused person was guilty of a particular act, and states that even if no act is proved, the accused person may still be convicted on the basis of “the circumstances of the case, his conduct or his known character…”.

Govt won’t amend OSA, says Nazriby Kevin TanThe Edge

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no intention of amending the Official Secrets Act (OSA) as the Cabinet can declassify any document at any time, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (Kota Raja-PAS) who asked whether the government intended to draft a freedom of information act to protect whistleblowers and complement the government’s effort to fight corruption.

Without answering whether the government would introduce such a law, he said the Cabinet could meet to declassify any matter from the OSA.

Nazri earlier told parliament that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) had brought 544 charges against government officials for various offences between 2003 and 2007.

“These involved 436 cases under the Corruption Prevention Act 1997, 67 cases under the Penal Code and other legislations as well as one under the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” he said.

The minister said the ACA would shift its emphasis from enforcement and punitive actions to a focus on internal control by encouraging government departments to work with the agency in various programmes to prevent corruption, misappropriation and the abuse of power.

“This will be implemented through the formation of a Joint Committee to Prevent Corruption, which is an extension of the existing efforts implemented through the Committee for Integrity in Management (CIM),” he added.

The joint committee was linked directly with critical and high-risk agencies, Nazri said. “By focusing on critical agencies, it will have a bigger impact on the effectiveness of corruption prevention efforts in this country.”

Nazri said the ACA would step up its cooperation with the National Audit Department to ensure early action in dealing with government agencies deemed more prone to corruption, abuse of power and impropriety.

The ACA would also pay more attention to “intelligence-based investigation”, particularly those involving syndicated corruption, the minister said. “It will involve the use of intelligence in corruption cases to increase the investigative capability against government departments,” he said.

To a question from Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur-DAP) on whether the government actually had the “political will” to fight corruption considering Malaysia was ranked 43rd on Transparency International’s index, Nazri said the matter was part of Barisan Nasional’s manifesto since 2004.

He said corruption would be difficult to eradicate in a short time and urged the opposition to work alongside the government to stem the practice.

In a press release later, Sivarasa Rasiah (Subang-PKR) said the government must have the “political will” to prevent corruption by drafting a freedom of information act and protect whistleblowers.

“If not, the government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is only making empty promises,” he added.

According to Sivarasa, the government had never declassified any confidential documents of public interests such as the toll concession agreements. “Instead, it is the Selangor state government under Pakatan Rakyat that started to declassify confidential documents as an early measure to improve transparency and governance,” he said.

The PKR vice-president said he had proposed a motion for a freedom of information legislation to be debated in parliament that had been excluded from the current sitting.

Sivarasa’s view was backed by Mohamed Azmin Ali (Gombak-PKR), who highlighted that freedom of information act had been introduced in 55 countries, including Zimbabwe. “The countries that are still behind are Malaysia and possibly Mongolia,” he said when debating the motion of thanks on the royal address yesterday.

Azmin said India had abolished its OSA and enacted a right to information act that allowed every Indian citizen to obtain any information, record or document within 30 days.

On corporate governance, he questioned Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) purchase of a 100% stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) at the price of RM8.6 billion.

“The acquisition process has been criticised by the financial community as it did not comply with corporate governance standards.

“Maybank paid 4.65 times the book value (of BII) and set a new benchmark for (the purchase of) a bank in Indonesia,” Azmin said, adding that the highest price paid for a bank in Indonesia was about 2.5 times book value

In a new development regarding Karpal Singh statement in Parliament, Dr M has joined the crowd and commented that we must ascertain whether Karpal Singh’s remark tantamount to “sedition” against the royalties.

Karpal Singh still maintains that he did not question the prerogative of the Sultan and has not committed any offence. Karpal Singh quoted a legal case in Pengarah Pelajaran Wilayah Persekutuan & Others vs Loot Ting Yee where the Federal Court had decided that a civil servant did not have a right to be heard as transfer does not amount to dismissal or reduction in rank. He had said the principles in the decision apply equally to state civil servants.

TAIPING (May 11, 2008): The federal government should not interfere in police investigations into reports lodged against DAP chairman Karpal Singh for allegedly committing sedition by questioning the powers of the Perak Sultan.

Lim urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to withdraw the police report against Karpal Singh as Karpal Singh had spoken purely on a legal point of law. He said Umno should not politicise the issue for its own benefit.”

The DAP strongman spoke in a dialogue with the people to address their problems in the Kwang Tong Association here last night. About 1,000 people attended the dialogue which saw the people voicing their grievances on several issues.

Since last Monday, several police reports were lodged in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Port Dickson, Muar and George Town, calling for action against Karpal Singh.

Karpal Singh was reported to have said the Perak Sultan did not have the power to reinstate the Perak Religious Department director Datuk Jamry Sury who was transferred by the Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

He was also reported to have said in Parliament on Monday that state governments had the right to move civil servants without consulting heads of state.

He maintains that he did not question the prerogative of the Sultan and has not committed any offence. Karpal Singh quoted a legal case in Pengarah Pelajaran Wilayah Persekutuan & Others vs Loot Ting Yee where the Federal Court had decided that a civil servant did not have a right to be heard as transfer does not amount to dismissal or reduction in rank. He had said the principles in the decision apply equally to state civil servants.

“I fail to understand why there was such an uproar over what is purely a legal issue backed by the Privy Council in London, which, until 1985, was the highest court in Malaysia,” said Lim.

Karpal Singh has also threatened legal action against those who continued to make defamatory remarks against him regarding the issue.

He also reportedly warned the Prime Minister and his deputy, saying he will not hesitate to take legal action against them if they persist in making defamatory remarks against him.

On Saturday, he was quoted as saying that he fears for his safety after the Prime Minister’s call to the A-G to decide quickly whether to charge him for questioning the powers of the Perak Sultan.

It was also reported that DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Karpal Singh was merely stating a case in law and had done nothing wrong.

Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein said the party will not retreat from defending the rights of royalties.

“Defending the rights of our raja is something we will not compromise. Karpal Singh touched on two things that Malays feel are off-limits. Our religion and the royalties’ rights. What he said angers not only the Malays but also normal people and the royalties.”

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Karpal Singh’s statement has caused a lot of misunderstandings.”He must be careful and know how to respect the role of the raja in religious matters.”

“I regret that the Opposition party feels that they are so big that they can test this right. They feel they have the right to disturb because they won in so many states.”

A court of law must determine if Karpal Singh’s statement is one of sedition, of a crime of “lese majeste (insulting the monarchy), said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“First you have to know what a seditious statement is and why it is regarded as sedition. You have to get a court of law to determine whether it is seditious or not but if it is seditious, then we should make clear that if you say these things against the King, it is a crime.

“However, Malaysia does not have such a provision,” Mahathir told reporters after his address at a Look East Policy forum today..

When my first son was about 7 years old a Siamese cat landed in our home, being abandoned by his owner. We named him Blue-Eye. Then he met a mate named ‘Blotchy’. During my younger days my late mother would have called him ‘Tompok’. Soon, ‘Blendy’ was born.Since then my house has literally been a semi-welfare home for cats which was abandoned by their owners or which wanted ‘a second home’. They came in and go whenever they like.I was getting very busy running my clinic and I didn’t have much time reading to my kids as i used to. I now have 6 kids and boy!they were very active. So I thought I better use all these stray or semi-stray cats to teach them a little bit of vocabulary and a dose of motivation.Of course I needed the motivation more than they did. So, here is the list of my cats over the past 20 years or so that come to mind. Blendy gave birth to Jovial. The rest were from other stock. We had:Proactive, Imperturbability(Imper), Integrity, Equanimity, Joyful, Adorable, Vision, Mission,Positive, Progressive, Persistence, Synergy, Awesome, Vibrant, Upgrade, Tenacity, Nimble Charming, Sheer Brute, Influential and about two weeks before the Malaysian general election(8/3/08) Charismatic delivered Forward Thinking, Upbeat, Catalyst and SUCCESS!

Besides the cat story, a monitor lizard which frequented my gate, I called her ZEST. She produced a cute little’WIN-WIN’ and both were chased away by the constant stone throwing of the village boys. We had a pair of hamsters called ‘ Hopeful’ and ‘Forge Ahead’ and a pair of ‘ayam katek’ called ‘Innovative’ and Creative.

So, it’s not that difficult to use whatever time and resources to be creative, cost effective and be a good teacher to your kids.

The issue of remarks made in Parliament by the the well known lawyer Mr Karpal Singh, MP for Bukit Gelugor is a sensitive one but we must act sensibly, rationally and without traces or hints of racial undertone. This is a test of our maturity as a nation and as a civilised society. It is becoming a common practice nowadays to lodge a police report whenever a statement is made by someone about something not to his or her likings and to invoke the Seditious Act.

“O you who believe! be maintainers of justice, bearers of witness of Allah’s sake, though it may be against your own selves or (your) parents or near relatives; if he be rich or poor, Allah is nearer to them both in compassion; therefore do not follow (your) low desires, lest you deviate; and if you swerve or turn aside, then surely Allah is aware of what you do” 4:135